Daily Bread - 06/12/07

2 Corinthians 5:21 - For He who knew no sin was made sin for us so that we may be the righteousness of God in Him.

The prophet Isaiah gives an account of how Jesus took our sin and shame upon Himself on the cross (Isaiah 53:4-6, 10). In this account, he reveals to all the world that through God's righteous servant (Christ Jesus) many would be made righteous (Isaiah 53:11). Peter also revealed to us that Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the tree so that we may be dead to sin and live unto righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). Because of the sin of one man (Adam), the power of sin dominated the heart of man, but through the righteousness of one man, Christ Jesus, the power of sin was destroyed (Hebrews 2:14; 2 Timothy 1:10; Romans 5:17; 1 John 3:5; John 1:29). To accomplish the destruction of sin, God made Jesus to be sin with a sin that was our own so that we might be made righteous with a righteousness that is His own. As sin dominated our hearts because we were born of man, now righteousness dominates our hearts because we have been born of God.

One of the great stories of forgiveness and mercy are given to us in the small book of the Bible called Philemon. A slave named Onesimus stole from his master whose name was Philemon. If Onesimus were caught and punished for his crime he would be crucified. However, instead he met Paul and was changed into another man by the blood of Jesus. Paul wrote to Philemon concerning Onesimus and said, "receive him as myself. Also, if he owes you anything put that to my account (Philemon 1:18)." Through Paul's intercession the relationship of Philemon and Onesimus was restored because a righteous man interceded for an unrighteous one. Onesimus did not continue to be a thief and a runaway slave but was restored to a right relationship with Philemon. Similarly, Jesus had all of ours sins charged to his account and through His intercession He restored us to a right relationship with God. Yet, He did more than just restore us to relationship (reconcile us), He provided us with a change of nature (2 Corinthians 5:17). Then to seal our success He came along with us into our restored relationship to teach us and guide us into every correct action and attitude.

The life of sin is a life of wrong actions whereas the life of righteousness is the life of right actions. When the power of sin rules over the heart of man then there will only be wrong actions, but when the Holy Spirit rules over the heart there will be right actions. Jesus put sin to death on the cross so that righteousness might take its place in our life (Romans 8:3). To make salvation anything less than a change in nature does away with faith altogether. To suggest that we are no different in our behavior after we have been redeemed is to make God a liar. To believe that we are somehow perfected through our own good efforts or through religious practices is no different than trusting in the law for righteousness. The treasure of God's righteousness is only found in Christ Jesus for He alone has the power to reconcile us and transform our lives into a new creation. Through depending upon and yielding to the Holy Spirit we live the life of righteousness that God created us for.

Be blessed,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org